The Crash
Things felt easier the next day than they had in a while. The awkwardness that had settled over their relationship lessened, feeling to both as though they had regained some of their usual familiarity. The next night Regina remained on alert, resting but not sleeping as she waited with anticipation for her visitor. Emma never arrived, and the following day she was relieved to find the sheriff looked well rested. Even Henry commented on how much better Emma appeared, shaking his own anxieties in regard to his other mother in favour of the developmentally appropriate worries of being an almost thirteen-year-old boy.
With Gold banished, Regina didn’t even have him to worry about.
Things felt peaceful, which was – of course – when Storybrooke always blew up.
This time was no different. It wasn’t dramatic in the way things in Storybrooke usually were – no shrunken ogres, Lost Boys, nor evil popsicle vendors – but difficult, nonetheless. It started with a crash on Main Street. A driver had veered lanes and hit a car coming in the opposite direction. The other driver – in a bid to avoid the accident – had come up on the pavement and clipped a fire hydrant. Unfortunately, a third driver hadn’t been paying enough attention, and rammed right into the back of the first car, completely blocking the street in both directions.
Henry’s school bus had been directly behind the third car – though the driver had done his job and stopped – along with half a dozen other vehicles. By the time Emma had blocked off the road, traffic was backed up with furious citizens trying to get to work during rush hour.
Regina came down under the guise of her job as mayor. Pressed against every window of the school bus was a child, among them her son peering with too much excitement at the crash. She narrowed her eyes at the boy, gesturing for him to retake his seat on the bus. He pursed his lips, sighing dramatically as he shifted back from view, two other kids pushing to the front.
A flash of blonde amidst the ruckus got her attention, and Regina moved away from the school bus. The children were safe – if bored – and Henry was not her current responsibility.
Emma moved between the cars and people, barking orders and looking every bit her father’s daughter. People did as instructed with ease. She had certainly been the right person for the job, whatever reservations Regina had had to begin with. Of course, her motivations had been less than pure. An ambulance pulled away without its sirens, and the mayor allowed herself to relax slightly.
Though two of the three cars were practically demolished, nobody seemed particularly injured. David was interviewing a man being checked over by a paramedic, and another man was ranting at Emma as he gestured towards his barely scratched vehicle. If the scowl on Emma’s face was anything to go by, she was quickly losing patience with him.
She wrote something on her pad, tore it off, and slapped it into his chest before turning on her heel and stalking off. Regina moved to join her. Emma’s expression softened somewhat. “All ok?”
She rolled her eyes. “The guy thinks some minor cosmetic damage on his cheap car is the worst thing that’s happened today. Some people here have real problems.”
Regina studied the other woman’s face, watching as her brows crinkled faintly and found a brief flash of distress in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Her usual mask slotted back into place as she swallowed down whatever emotion was brewing. “Nothing.”
“Emma.” Her tone was light as a hand cradled Emma’s elbow, inviting a more sincere response.
“I did what I could.” Emma seemed to zone out as she surveyed the scene. Officials and volunteers from other branches of the emergency services helped guide frustrated motorists on their way.
To someone else, that small admission might have been waved off as merely a tired sheriff delegating the last of the work, but Regina hesitated. “What do you mean?”
“Susan Anderson was driving the Sedan.” The third driver, who hadn’t spotted the car coming the wrong way. Susan was six months pregnant. “She’s on her way to the hospital. She’s fine – I tried to heal her, but I don’t think – ” In a firmer voice, like she was trying to convince herself, “I did what I could.”
Emma moved away from Regina then, her gaze fixated on what remained of the accident. Regina allowed her to go. Talking would do them no good now. Emma needed to find a suitable outlet for her feelings, and her job was a reasonable choice. There would be time for discussion later, time for assurance.
For now, she would leave her be.
-
It was after lunch by the time the scene was fully dealt with, and David met her at the station with an oversized bag of takeaway food. Emma settled into one of the chairs with a forced smile, digging through the offering for anything that might take her fancy. Nothing was particularly appealing – she’d left her appetite with Susan Anderson – but she picked at the food regardless.
The look of absolute relief on Susan’s face when she spotted Emma was stuck on the back of her eyelids. So many people in this town looked at her like that. She’d reached for her like a toddler, one hand on her swollen belly. “I hit it – my stomach. She’s not moving. I think I’m bleeding.”
And Emma had charged forward like a white knight, her own hands extended, her power surging out of her extremities. She’d felt for life and found none, just a hollow emptiness that seeped right back into her. Then there was Susan, staring back at her with such trust.
The people of this town looked at her like she could cure all ills. All she could do was reassure and make sure she got into the ambulance that probably couldn’t do any more for her than Emma could. When Susan told her friends what had happened, they would whisper Emma’s name like a God who had chosen to forsake their people. They wouldn’t understand the limits of her power. Emma didn’t even understand the limits of her power.
Maybe she could have saved the baby if she had applied herself better, if she had tried harder. Maybe this had been her doing.
“Everything ok?” David was looking at her like he had been watching for a long time, that curious, vaguely concerned look she hated being on the receiving end of.
Another forced smile. “Yeah, all good.”
He didn’t push.